NM Collector Cross Platform Tutorial - 4. Managing Collections

NM Collector Software Cross Platform uses Collection Templates to define collections. You have the ability to modify existing collection templates to meet your needs or to create your own from scratch or from an existing template.

These features are access via the Edit Menu item.

Manage Collections Menu Options

Edit > Collections

Use this feature to manage collection names and descriptions. If you wish to see and/or edit the template associated with a collection click the Template button. To delete a collection definition and all of the associated data, click the Delete button. Click the "Add Collection" button to begin the process of creating a new collection from scratch.

Edit > Collection Templates

Use this feature to modify the field names available for any collection.

Note: If you would rather create a new collection from an existing collection, you can accomplish that within the Edit Collection Template feature by clicking the Duplicate button and then adjusting the resulting fields as needed.

This is an example of how to add additional fields to the Rec to capture additional information. Here we want to add fields for the person (or business) we are purchasing a firearm from if they are other than the FFL holder who does the transfer. Also, we want to add additional cost fields.

Select the collection name and the tab that you want to modify. In this case, that would be Firearms and Rec. Next select the Field Type that you want to work with. We would start by selecting "Drop Down TEXT" to add additional individual or FFL fields (depending on which is primary for you). I would suggest not changing the order of the fields because the underlying data will remain as is independent of the field names. You can change the value of the fields but not their order. Instead, I would suggest adding additional fields at the bottom of the list. In my case I only capture the FFL information so that would be my primary information. If I was to follow your lead and capture individual information as well I would append that to the fields below.

For Example:

Next, for the additional costs, I would suggest selecting "DECIMAL" from the Field Type Drop Down. However, only the amount field is included in all of the calculations. Perhaps you would want to keep track of the total costs in the Amount field and then add additional fields for recording the various amounts that go into the total cost. You have to add them up for the total Amount yourself.

For example:

This is what the result would look like:

Edit > Tab Labels

Not really collection specific, this function allows you to change the tab labels displayed for all collections. You must restart the program after making changes in order for you to see them.